Battery charger architecture

ABSTRACT

A control circuit for use in a battery charger circuit that includes a switching voltage regulator, with the control circuit having a constant current charging mode and a constant voltage charging mode. A switcher controller is provided which configured to control a state of a top side switching transistor and a low side transistor of the switching voltage regulator in response to at least one error signal. A power path transistor switch is disposed intermediate an output of the switching voltage regulator and a first node for receiving a first terminal of a battery to be charged. Feedback circuitry is further provided to produce a first error signal relating to a difference between a first voltage and a first target voltage, with the first voltage being between the output of the switching voltage regulator and a second node for receiving a second terminal of the battery to be charged, with the first error signal being used by the switcher controller when the control circuit is in the constant voltage charging mode for controlling the top and low side switching transistors.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to battery chargers and inparticular to battery chargers suitable for use in combination with aswitching voltage regulator.

2. Description of Related Art

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a simplified circuit diagram of aprior art battery charger 10. The charger is powered by a DC-DCswitching voltage regulator which converts a DC input V_(BUS) from anexternal power source to a DC output voltage V_(DD) present on a systembus. In the present example, the regulator is a buck regulator whichsteps the input voltage down to a smaller output voltage. The regulatorcontroller 12 includes a pair of switching transistors including a highside P type transistor 14 connected between the input V_(BUS) and aninductor 18. A low side N type transistor is connected between theinductor 18 and circuit common. An output capacitor 20 in combinationwith inductor 18 function as regulator output filter. A fraction of theregulator output voltage V_(DD) is sensed by a voltage divider made upof resistors 22A and 22B, with the divider output being fed back to oneinput of an error amplifier 24 of the controller. The second input toerror amplifier 24 is either a reference voltage Vref, which is a fixedvoltage of typically 1.2 V, and a variable voltage Vtrack to bedescribed. The two voltages are selected by a multiplexer circuit 31.

As is well known, the controller 12 uses anti-phase drive to control thestate of switching transistors 14 and 16, with the switching duty cyclebeing controlled to provide the regulated output voltage VDD where thesensed fraction of the output voltage is equal to reference voltage Vrefwhich may be 1.2 voltage, by way of example. Assuming in this examplethat the charger is configured to charge single cell Li ion batteries,V_(DD) is typically regulated to be about +4.4 volts once any batteryconnected to the charger has been fully charged. Charging accuracy isimportant for Li ion batteries since charging to a voltage of only 1% inexcess of the specified voltage and charging to less than 1% of thespecified voltage is undesirable.

The regulated output V_(DD) is connected to a battery 30 to be chargedby way of what can be referred to as a power path switch (PPS) 26. Aswill be described, switch 26 provides both a power path function and aregulator function, with control of these functions being carried out bya control circuit 34. In addition to providing a charging source forbattery 30, output V_(DD) operates to power the system, otherwisepowered by the battery, when the battery is in a discharge state. Aswill be explained, the value of VDD varies from VDD_(MIN) of +3 volts toa final value of +4.4 volts.

FIG. 2 is a timing diagram depicting a typical battery chargingsequence. At time t1, battery 30 is in a deep discharge state having avoltage VBAT significantly less than 3.0 volts, that being the minimumsystem voltage VDD_(MIN). Initially, near time t1, transistor 26 iscontrolled to operate as a current regulator providing a relativelysmall fixed charging current. (Circuitry for sensing the chargingcurrent is not depicted.) Meanwhile, the system connected to the V_(DD)bus is being powered by the switching voltage regulator at voltageVDD_(MIN). This is sometimes called the pre-charge mode. It should benoted that in the event external power source VBUS is not present whenthe battery is in the pre-charge mode, switch 26 it turned off toisolate battery 30. Battery 30 is also isolated when the charger is notin the pre-charge mode. By way of example, if VBUS is not present andthere is no startup event such as detection of an activation of a poweron switch or some kind of an alarm event, battery 30 is isolated to savepower. Should the external power be applied at this time, switch 26should be maintained off until VDD becomes greater than VBAT to avoiddischarging the battery. Prior to time t1, when VDD is still smallerthan VDD_(MIN), multiplexer 31 will select the fixed reference voltageVref to be applied to error amplifier 24.

Eventually at about time t2, the small charging current will causebattery 30 to be charged up to the point that VBAT is around VDD_(MIN)of +3.0 volts. At the point, multiplexer 31 will select Vtrack forregulating the value of VDD. In addition, transistor 26 is controlled byblock 34 to operate as a linear voltage regulator where conductivity ofthe transistor is adjusted so as to maintain a constant voltage dropacross the transistor and regulate a constant charge current intobattery 30. Voltage Vtrack is derived from VBAT using a resistivedivider made up of resistors 28A, 28B and 28C. A further voltage Vref′,also derived from VBAT, is used for the linear regulator control oftransistor 26. The values of resistors 28A, 28B and 28C are selected toproduce voltages Vtrack and Vref′ having a magnitude such that voltageacross transistor 26 is maintained at 200 mV thereby fixing the voltagedifference between VBAT and VDD at that value.

During this period, a relatively high constant current flows throughtransistor 26 to charge battery 30. Circuitry is typically provided tolimit the maximum current charging level and to limit the batterytemperature. At about time t3, the battery voltage has reached a finalvalue of +4.2.

The time from t2 to t3 is typically referred to as the constant currentportion of the charge cycle. During this period, as the battery voltageVBAT increases, the value of Vtrack also increases thereby increasingVDD so that the voltage across transistor remains at 200 mV. Note thattransistor 26 is typically a large device having a R_(ON) value, whenfully turned ON, of only 50 mΩ. However, when operating as a linearregulator, the ON resistance of transistor 26 is controlled to maintainthe 200 mV. Once again, during this period the system connected to theVDD bus is powered by the switching voltage regulator.

At the end of the constant current portion of the charge cycle at T3,constant voltage portion of the charge cycle is entered. During thistime, the voltage VBAT is regulated to specific voltage of +4.2 voltsspecified in this case by the battery manufacturer. In this constantvoltage portion of the charging cycle the charging current will drop offfairly rapidly until the battery 30 is fully charged at some time soonafter t4. At this point the charging current will drop to near zero.However, in order to provide head room for the operation of the linearregulator, the drain-source voltage of transistor 26 must be maintainedabove some minimum value, such as 200 mV in this example, to ensure thatVBAT is held at the specified target voltage. Thus, even after thecharging current has dropped to near zero, VDD must be greater than VBATto provide a sufficient voltage difference for the operation of thelinear regulator. The charging sequence is terminated when the chargingcurrent is reduced to 10% of the full value, with the power path switch26 being turned OFF at this point so as to isolate battery 30.

When the external power source VBUS is present, the system power on VDDis provided by the DC-DC regulator as is the power for maintaining acharge on the battery. Transistor switch 26 effectively isolates battery30 from the system load on bus VDD. When the external power is removed,transistor 26 is automatically turned fully ON so that the system ispowered by battery 30 through the transistor.

The charger architecture of FIG. 1 provides a means for powering asystem either from an external DC source or a battery. Further, thesystem can be powered even if the battery is deeply discharged. However,certain improvements can be made to improve efficiency and reliableoperation. As will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon areading of the following Detailed Description of the Invention togetherwith drawings, one or more embodiments of the present invention providesignificant improvements over the FIG. 1 approach.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified circuit diagram of a prior art battery chargerutilizing a DC-DC switching converter.

FIG. 2 is a timing diagram of a battery charging sequence furtherillustrating operation of the FIG. 1 battery charger.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of a battery charger in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a timing diagram of a battery charging sequence furtherillustrating operation of the battery charger of FIG. 3

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a power patch switch and relatedcontrol system for use in the FIG. 3 battery charger.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the control circuit for the FIG. 5power path switch for providing a soft start.

FIGS. 7A to 7C are timing diagrams illustrating the manner in which thevarious segments of the power path switch are turned ON during a softstart sequence.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating the soft start sequence provided bythe power path switch.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a power path switch turn-offsequence in the presence of a short circuit condition.

FIG. 10 is a simplified schematic diagram of the circuitry associatedwith controlling the power path switch in the presence of short circuitconditions.

FIG. 11 is a timing diagram further illustrating operation before andduring short circuit conditions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring again to the drawings, FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of thepresent invention. The battery charger includes a buck switchingregulator which includes a high side P type transistor 14 and low side Ntype transistor 16, having a common node connected to one side ofinductor 18. An external power source provides an input voltage VBUS tothe switching regulator at the source of transistor 14. A controller 30is provided for driving a P MOS driver 32 and an N MOS drive 34.Controller 30 operates to provide a switching signal to the drivers 32and 34 in response to an error voltage applied to one of the inputs ofthe controller 36. The other inputs to controller 36 include a clocksignal from clock source 38 and a saw tooth signal 39 used by pulsewidth modulation circuitry located in controller 36 to provide voltageregulation by changing the duty cycle of the transistor switches 14 and16.

The other end of inductor 18 is connected to a filter capacitor 20 andto an output voltage node that provides output voltage VDD. Voltage VDDfunctions both as a battery charging source and a power source for asystem bus, with the system bus being powered by the battery except whenthe battery is in a discharged state or absent.

The error voltage on line 41 coupled to controller 36 is applied to oneinput of a comparator (not depicted) within the controller, with theother input being the saw tooth signal 39 so as provide the pulse widthmodulation function. Various different error amplifiers are used togenerate the error voltage. Each error amplifier includes asource-follower output stage which includes a P type transistor (notdepicted) having a drain electrode connected to ground and an opensource electrode output connected to common line 41. A current source 37is connected between line 41 and supply voltage VDD. Although each erroramplifier remains active during the various modes of charger operation,only the error amplifier with the lowest value error voltage actuallycontrols the magnitude of the error voltage on line 41 and thus controlsthe loop. In other words, the error amplifier with smallest errorvoltage overrides the outputs of the other error amplifiers havinghigher error voltages. This is an analog analogy to a digital wired ORcircuit.

Amplifier 40 is one potential source of the error voltage on line 41.Error amplifier 40 compares a fixed fraction of voltage VDD to areference voltage Vref2. That fixed fraction is determined by aresistive voltage divider made up of resistors 42A and 42B. Assumingthat the error voltage output of an error amplifier 40 is the lowestlevel voltage on line 41, error amplifier 40 operates in theconventional manner to alter the duty cycle of the transistor switches14 and 16 so as to provide a regulated output voltage VDD. This errorvoltage source is active, by way of example, when the battery is absentor not charged and the external supply VBUS is present so that voltageVDD is at a nominal value of +4.2 volts. During the constant voltageportion of a battery charging cycle, error amplifier 40 also operates tomaintain VDD at +4.2V.

At other times during the charger operation, the switching regulator isalso controlled to provide a constant current output. This is done bycontrolling the regulator so that a constant voltage is maintainedacross a current sensing resistor as will be explained. Under theseconditions, the output of error amplifier 40 for regulating VDD at afixed voltage is effectively overridden by another error amplifieroutput (a lower level output), with voltage VDD changing as required toprovide the desired constant current output of a specific magnitude.

A power path switch transistor 44 is provided which provides variousfunctions, including the isolation of battery 30 from the system loadrepresented by block 49 when the external power source that providesvoltage VBUS is present. Thus, power is provided to the system load 49from the external source VBUS rather than the battery 30 so as to reducethe number of charge/discharge cycles for the battery thereby extendingthe battery life. Block 46 represents the circuitry for controllingswitch 44 as will be described. When the power path switch is fully ON,the resistance for the present exemplary embodiment is 50 mΩ.

A current sense resistor 48 is provided to permit the monitoring of thebattery charge and discharge current. Resistor 48 is typically adiscrete resistor having a resistance of 50 mΩ and is capable ofdissipating ¼ of ½ watts. When battery 30 is being discharged, adifferential amplifier 50 provides an output error voltage indicative ofthe magnitude of the discharge current. When the battery 30 is beingcharged, another differential amplifier 52 provides a voltage indicativeof the charge current magnitude. The output of the charge currentamplifier 52 is coupled to the input of an error amplifier 54 whichcompares the charge current magnitude with a reference voltage Vref1,with Vref1 being indicative of a charge current magnitude. An erroroutput voltage is produced which is provided to controller 36 so that aconstant charging current can be produced having a magnitude set by thevalue of Vref1. Note that current sense resistor 48 could be eliminatedby using the power path switch transistor 44 as a current sensingelement. Each of these current related error amplifiers are operativeonly when the respective error voltage produced by the error amplifieris the lowest voltage in line 41. Thus, when a charge current is closeto a target level set by Vref1, the resultant small error voltage out ofamplifier 54 commence control of the loop, perhaps replacing erroramplifier 40 which provides voltage regulation for output VDD. Thus, thecontroller 36 will operate to adjust the regulator voltage VDD towhatever is needed to produce a voltage across sense resistor 48 thatcorresponds to the value set by Vref1. A further error amplifier 56compares the output of a die temperature sensor (not depicted) which isformed in the same integrated circuit in which the subject batterycharger circuit is implemented. A voltage Vref3 is provided which isindicative of maximum die temperature so that the charging of thebattery is controlled so that this maximum die temperature value is notexceeded for higher charge currents. Battery 30 temperature is sensedseparately using the battery thermistor and the charge current ischanged so that the maximum battery working temperature is not exceeded.This is carried out digitally using an ADC for sensing the analogthermistor output. An input current detector block 62 monitors thecurrent provided by the external power source VBUS. This current iscompared by an error amplifier 60 with a reference voltage Vref4indicative of a predetermined input current value. The output of theerror amplifier 60 is used to terminate or limit the battery chargingcurrent in the event the external input current from VBUS is exceeded.This feature is needed for USB inputs which have maximum output currentlimitations. Other types of external power sources may have differingoutput current limitations.

Operation of the FIG. 3 charger will now be explained using the diagramof FIG. 4, assuming that battery 30 is a single cell Lithium Ion (Li+).The absolute values of the time scale of FIG. 4 are not intended to beaccurate with only the relative time values being pertinent. At thebeginning of the time scale, the regulated output voltage VDD is below aspecified value of about 2.6 volts in the present example, with VBATbeing slightly lower at this time (VBAT=2.6 V, VDD=2.59 V). During thisinitial period, control 46 keeps the power path switch 44 OFF untilvoltage VDD exceeds VBAT to prevent a reverse current flow from battery30. Once VDD is higher than VBAT, the power path switch is turned ON.Note that the details for implementing a preferred embodiment of thepower path switch 44 and controlling the switch by way of control block46 will be subsequently described in detail.

Once the power path switch 44 is turned ON at time t1 and assuming thatbattery 30 is discharged, the charger circuit is in a pre-charge modewhere the charge current is set to around, by way of example, to 100 mA.The current level is controlled using sense resistor 48 and erroramplifier 54. Further details regarding a preferred pre-charge mode ofoperation will be described later. At time t2 the pre-charge mode ofoperation ends when VBAT reaches a threshold voltage of 2.64 V. Aconstant current charge mode is then entered where the voltage beingregulated across sense resistor 48 is increased to a value correspondingto about 1.6 A. During this heavy charging period, the battery voltageVBAT increases as the battery is charged. Voltage VDD is equal to VBATplus the voltage drop across the 50 mΩ current sense resistor 48 and the50 mΩ power path switch 44 which totals 160 mV (100 mΩ×1.6 A). Duringthe constant current modes of operation, the regulator adjusts the valueof VDD to maintain a voltage across the sense resistor 48 using erroramplifiers 52 and 54 that corresponds to the magnitude of the desiredconstant current. Thus, since the error voltage produced by currentsense error amplifier 54 is smaller than the error voltage produced byvoltage sense amplifier 40, the current sense error amplifier 54controls the feedback loop and not amplifier 40.

As the battery voltage VBAT increases, so does voltage VDD. The chargecurrent is reduced as the voltage drop across sense resistor 48 drops.Eventually, VDD will approach 4.2V which is the charge terminationvoltage for the battery 30, where the charger exits the constant currentmode and enters the constant voltage mode. At this point, the feedbackloop stops being controlled by error amplifier 54, with amplifier 40starting to dominate the loop.

The constant voltage mode is entered at about time t3 where VDD is at+4.2 volts. The charge current level (10% of full charge level) producesa voltage drop across power path transistor 26 and current senseresistor of only 10 mV (100 mΩ×0.1 A=10 mV). Thus, VBAT is 10 mV lessthan VDD or +4.19V, with that voltage being within the specified chargetermination voltage tolerance for a nominal termination voltage of+4.20V. At the point in time when the charge termination voltage isfinally reached, VBAT and VDD differ by a negligible voltage, preferablyless than 20 mV or even smaller.

It can be seen from the foregoing that the magnitude of the systemvoltage VDD can be set exactly to the final charge voltage ortermination voltage for the Li+ battery 30 which is typically close +4.2volts. Unlike the prior art approach of FIGS. 1 and 2, it is notnecessary to provide a system voltage VDD significantly higher thanfinal charge voltage in order to ensure sufficient head room toaccommodate the voltage drop across transistor 26 during linearregulator operation and to take into account a voltage drop across anycurrent sense resistor that may be used. That excess voltage may be onthe order of 200 to 300 mV so that the charger is required to provide asystem voltage larger than otherwise needed for not only charging thebattery but for powering system 49 (FIG. 3) when the battery is notpresent or when the battery is charged but external power VBUS isavailable. This excess system voltage needlessly wastes power,particularly given that the power consumed is related to the square ofthe supply voltage.

For reasons to be described, it is preferable that the power path switch44 be implemented in multiple segments. FIG. 5 shows one exemplaryembodiment of switch 44 which includes six separately controllable Ptype transistor segments 44A-44F having the respective source terminalsconnected in common to line Vs and having the respective drain terminalsconnected in common to line VD. The body regions of each segment areconnected to a common line VB which is connected to the most positivevoltage of VBAT or VDD. The six separate gate electrodes which carryrespective gate control signals 62A to 62F are separately connected tocontrol block 46.

The largest transistor segment and hence the smallest ON resistance issegment 44A which has an ON resistance of 2R, with R being 50 mΩ. Theremaining transistor segments 44B to 44F have respective ON resistancesof 4R, 8R, 16R, 32R and 32R. When all six segments are ON, the parallelcombination provides an ON resistance of R, that is, 50 mΩ. Sincetransistor 44 will have to conduct currents on the order of 2 A, therespective source and drain metallization must be implemented to conductthese relatively high currents.

As previously described, as a discharged battery enters the pre-chargemode, the charge current is limited to around 50 to 150 mA. Once thepre-charge mode threshold is exceeded, the constant charge current modecan be entered where the maximum current can be 2 A. When in thepre-charge mode at a time where the battery charger happens not to bepowered (VBUS not present), then VDD will be lower than the batteryvoltage VBAT as the power path switch is turned OFF to isolate battery30 to avoid any leakage currents. If power to the charger is thenapplied (VBUS is present), there will still be a tendency for thebattery to discharge into the VDD terminal so the power path switch 44is held OFF until VDD has had a chance to increase to a value greaterthan VBAT. However, if the power path switch 44 transitions from a fullyOFF to a fully ON state under these conditions too quickly, a largeovershoot in inductor 18 current will result since the currentregulation loop will not have had sufficient time to settle. Thisresults in a large and undesirable overshoot in the charge current. Onthe other hand, if too much time is required to turn ON the power pathswitch 44, voltage VDD will have had time to become substantially largerthan VBAT. In that case, there will also be a large overshoot ininductor current when the power path switch if turned ON. Again, thisresults in a large and undesirable overshoot in the charge current whenthe switch is turned ON.

In order to minimize such current overshoot, the transistor segments 44Ato 44F of the power path switch 44 are turned ON in a controlled mannerstarting at the pre-charge stage. FIG. 6 shows a simplified diagram of acontrol circuit 46A, which is part of control 46 (FIG. 5) for carryingout a turn-on sequence for switch 44. FIG. 8 is flow chart showing theturn-on sequence. Control circuit 46A produces six gate control signals62A-62F which are sequentially generated for sequentially turning oneach of the six transistor segments 44A-44F of the power path switch 44.Since the transistor segments are P type, the gate controls signalstransition from a high state of about +4.2 V to ground level to turn thesegments ON.

Referring to the FIG. 8 flow chart, as indicated by block 70, the powerpath switch 44 is initially OFF. Thus, for example, if VBUS is notpresent or if no start up event occurred, the battery is isolated fromVDD. Such start up events include activation of a power on key, an alarmevent or momentary power loss which occurs, by way of example, when acell phone utilizing the charger is dropped. As can be seen in FIG. 7C,soon after power VBUS (FIG. 3) is applied to the charger, a statussignal 64 changes state (64A) at time t1 indicating that voltage VDD hasincreased to a level larger than the battery voltage VBAT. This isindicated by block 72 of the FIG. 8. The power path switch can thenproceed to be turned ON without concern that the battery 30 willdischarge into the VDD bus. Thus, at time t1, control 46A generates agate control signal 62F for the 32R transistor segment 44F. The negativegoing control signal has a relatively short fall time set by fall timecontrol circuit 68F. The gate control signal 62F will turn ON segment44F so that the initial ON resistance of the power path transistor willbe 32×50 mΩ or 1.6Ω (elements 76, 78 and 80 of the FIG. 8 flow chart).During this pre-charge period, the charging current is limited to about100 mA (block 82 of the FIG. 8 flow chart). Note that circuit 68Fcontrols the fall time of signal 62F so that the 32R segment 44F takesabout 50 μs to turn ON.

At time t2, a further status signal 66 (FIG. 7B) changes stateindicating that the charger is going into the constant current chargingmode. At this point the remainder of the power path switch is tocommence being turned ON. When signal 66 transitions (66A), all of thefive remaining gate control signals 62A to 62E begin to change states.This is indicated by elements 84, 86 and 88 of the FIG. 8 flow chart. Aseach of the five remaining transistor segments is turned ON, theresistance of the power path switch 44 is reduced by half from 1.6Ω to0.8Ω, then to 0.4Ω, then to 0.2Ω, then to 0.01Ω and finally to 0.05Ω.Table 1 below shows a set of exemplary fall time constants (time forsignal to drop to about 37% of the initial value) provided by fall timecircuits 68A-68F of FIG. 6.

TABLE 1 Time Constant Fall Time Circuit (Approximate) (FIG. 6) (μsec)68A (2R) 800 68B (4R) 400 68C (8R) 200 68D (16R) 100 68E (32R) 50 68F(32R) 50

At about time t3, which is about 8.55 msecs after the start of thepre-charge mode starting at time t1, the charger circuit switches to theconstant current mode with a full current limit at 3 A (block 90 of theFIG. 8 flow chart). In the conventional manner, once the battery hasreached the target charge voltage, the constant current charge period isended and the constant voltage charge period commences. Note that thepreviously described sequence involving a soft turn ON of the power pathswitch 44 substantially reduces the inductor current overshoot. Notethat since the charge current in the pre-charge mode is only 100 mA, theON resistance of the power path switch 44 is set higher which results ina larger voltage between VDD and VBAT which is acceptable in this mode.

Also, during the pre-charge mode, the peak current limit for the chargeris reduced to 40% of the normal 3 A.

It can be seen from the FIG. 7A timing diagram that the six transistorsegments of the power path switch 44 are sequentially turned ON. First,only one of the 32R segment 44F is turned ON as indicated by thetransition in gate signal 62F at time t1. After segment 44F is turnedfully ON in the present exemplary embodiment, the remaining fivessegments 62A-62E start to be turned ON at time t2. However, due to thedifferences in the fall times of the five gate control signals 62A-62E,the five segments are effectively turned ON at differing times. Thus,the six segments are considered to be sequentially turned ON. The totaltime for transitioning from a fully OFF state to a fully ON state ispreferably on the order of msecs and is at least 1 msec.

The segmented power path switch 44 can also be used to provideprotection in the event of a short circuit condition at the VDD output.This approach is used when the switching regulator is off so that allpower provided to the VDD output and associated load originates frombattery 30. As previously described, external current sense resistor 48is used to monitor the battery charging current and the batterydischarge current. Error amplifier 50 provides an output voltageproportional to a magnitude of the discharge current and is alsoproportional a current drawn form battery 30 through the power pathswitch 44 and current sense resistor 48 through a short between VDD andground. Under typical normal operating conditions, the maximum currentflow through the power path switch 44 and the external current senseresistor 48 is 2 A. That means maximum expected power dissipation forthe 50 mΩ current sense resistor is 200 mW so that a ¼ or ½ wattresistor is used. However, should a short circuit condition having aresistance of 0.1Ω formed between the VDD output and ground, the shortcircuit current can be on the order of several amperes. By way ofexample, assuming a short circuit resistance of 0.1Ω, a, current senseresistor 48 of 0.050Ω, a power path switch 48 resistance of 0.050Ω and abattery VBAT of 4.2V, the resultant short circuit current is 21 A(4.2V/0.20Ω). This current would be further limited to 10.5 A, by way ofexample, if battery 30 has an equivalent series resistance (ESR) of0.200Ω. This current is provided by battery 30 by way of the power pathswitch 44 and sense resistor 48. This high level current and theresultant power dissipation will damage both switch 44 and resistor 48if it persists for any significant period of time, such as around 100μsec by way of example. As will be described, the present protectioncircuitry is capable of addressing short circuit conditions in much lessthan 100 μsec. As will be apparent from the following description, afurther advantage of this approach is that transients and similar eventsthat do not rise to the level of a short circuit will not cause thepower path switch to 44 to become fully turned OFF so as to needlesslyinterrupt power to the system connected to source VDD.

In order to prevent permanent damage caused by short circuit currents,control circuitry 46B (FIG. 5) is provided which operates to sense thepresence of a short circuit condition and, in response, to switch thepower path switch 44 OFF in a controlled manner. The sequence isillustrated in the flow chart of FIG. 9, the circuit diagram of FIG. 10and the timing diagram of FIG. 11 (not shown to scale). The FIG. 10circuit diagram shows some of the additional circuitry for use incarrying out the short circuit protection function. Symbol 118represents an actual or potential short circuit condition existingbetween output VDD and the circuit common. As previously described,current sense resistor 48 along with error amplifier 50 provide anoutput voltage indicative of the charging and discharging current. Oneoutput of the error amplifier 50 is connected to an input of acomparator 116 to provide a Comp 1 output which is used to provide anindication of a short circuit condition located between output VDD andground as represented by symbol 18. Another error amplifier 120 sensesthe voltage between VDD and VBAT and provides that difference voltage tothe one input of a second comparator 122. The second input of comparator122 is connected to Vref5, which is set to 250 mV in the presentexample. The output Comp 2 of comparator 122 functions to determine thestatus of a short circuit condition after that condition has beendetected by comparator 116. As will be described, logic circuitryfollowing comparator 122 is used to initiate a soft start of the powerpath switch 44 after all or part of the switch has been shut off duringa short circuit event. That logic circuitry includes inverters 124A,124B and 124C along with delay circuit 126 and an AND gate 128. WhenComp 2 initially goes low, one input to gate 128 is high due to inverter124C, with the other input being low until the end of the delay periodproduced by circuit 126 at which time the delay output goes highmomentarily thereby causing gate 128 to produce a pulse.

As indicated by block 96 of the flow chart, the power path switch 44 isinitially fully ON so that the present resistance RT of switch 44 isequal to R or 50 mΩ where all six segments 44A to 44F are turned ON. Thedischarge current ID through sense resistor 48 flowing to the VDDterminal is measured as indicated by element 98. This is accomplished bymonitoring the voltage across resistor 48 using error amplifier 50. Themaximum discharge current Imax from battery 30 is set to 2.5 A as isdetermined by reference voltage Vref5 at one input of comparator 116. Ifthe threshold current Imax is not exceeded, as indicated by elements 98and 100 of FIG. 9, there is no short circuit condition.

The discharge current ID is tested continuously, with the sequenceremaining in this loop until a short circuit condition is detected.Waveform 130 of FIG. 11 illustrates the commencement of a potentialshort circuit condition the large increase in current ID when a shortcircuit condition exists. In that event, the sequence proceeds fromelement 98 to element 104 at which point a timer is started. Controlcircuit 46B then operates to sequentially double the ON resistance RT ofthe power path switch 44 as indicated by element 106. In order to firstincrease the ON resistance of switch 44 from 50 mΩ to 100 mΩ, thecontrol circuitry turns the 2R segment 44A (FIG. 5) OFF so that theresistance is now 2R (100 mΩ) due to ON transistor segments 44B to 44F.A determination is then made to again determine if a short circuitcondition is still present by comparing the discharge current ID to Imaxas indicated by element 108. A short circuit condition continues toexist if the voltage measured across sense resistor 48 and the powerpath switch 44 indicates that, should switch 44 be turned back fully ON(50 mΩ), the current would exceed 2.5 A. For example, for a currentsense resistance of 50 mΩ and a full ON resistance of 50 mΩ for thepower path switch, the current will be limited to 2.5 A provided thevoltage across the sum of resistor 48 and switch 44 does not exceed 250mV (2.5 A×100 mΩ).

If the short circuit condition is no longer present, the sequenceproceeds from element 108 of the flow chart to element 109 whichindicates that a soft start of the power path switch is initiated. Ifthe short circuit condition is still present, the sequence proceeds fromelement 108 of the flow chart to elements 100 and 102 and remains in theloop until the short circuit condition goes away (element 108). In theevent the short circuit condition remains, the state of the timer isexamined as indicated by element 110.

If the condition is present for more than some predetermined amount oftime, it is assumed that the short is continuous and control 46B turnsthe power path switch 44 OFF completely as indicated by block 112.

Assuming that the timer has not timed out, the sequence proceeds todetermine whether only the last transistor segment 44F is still ON(element 1114), with that segment providing a resistance of 32R. If thatis the case and if the short circuit condition persists then the finalsegment 44F is turned OFF so that switch 44 is fully OFF as shown byblock 112. If more than a single transistor segment remains ON, thevalue of RT is again doubled (element 106) by turning the next segment44B OFF which provides a resistance of 4R. Thus, when a 4R resistance isremoved, RT is increased to 4R. The discharge current is again tested(element 108). Waveform 140 shows current ID where the resistance ofswitch 44 is doubled a first time as indicated by region 140A, withpulse 138A indicating that the short circuit condition continues toexist. Hence, another doubling of resistance as indicated by region140B, followed by a pulse 138B indicates a continuing short circuitcondition. A still further doubling (region 140C) of the resistancefollowed by a pulse 138B indicates the condition remains present. Afourth doubling in resistance is indicated by region 140D is sufficientin this example to reduce the current such that no further Comp 2 pulsesare produced. This means that the short circuit condition has changed tothe extent that it is now safe to begin turning switch 44 back on again.With the output Comp 2 low for a duration equal to the delay provided bycircuit 126, both inputs AND gate 128 will momentarily go high so as toproduce a soft start pulse (SSP) 142A as shown in the FIG. 11 timingdiagram. At this point, the segments of switch 44 will be sequentiallyturned ON as previously described in connection with FIG. 7A.

Returning to the FIG. 9 flow chart, this sequence is repeated, andassuming that the short circuit condition still remains and the timerhas not timed out, RT is again doubled to 8R and then to 16R. Aspreviously described, should RT reach 32R (element 114), the switch 44is completely turned OFF by turning OFF the final 32R segment 44F(element 112). In order to minimize permanent damage, the sequence fortotal power path switch shut OFF, the goal of the present exemplaryembodiment is to turn OFF the power path switch in less than 4 μsec.Thus, the maximum timer value used at element 110 of the sequence inthis embodiment is set to 4 μsec. The sequential turn OFF period ispreferably completed (all segments are fully OFF) in less than 50 μsecassuming that the short circuit condition persists that long

Thus, various embodiments of a novel battery charging architecture havebeen described. Although these embodiments have been described in somedetail, it is to be understood that various changes can be made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A control circuit for use in a battery charger circuit that includesa switching voltage regulator, said control circuit having a constantcurrent charging mode and a constant voltage charging mode, said controlcircuit comprising: a switcher controller configured to control a stateof a top side switching transistor and a low side transistor of theswitching voltage regulator in response to at least one error signal; apower path transistor switch disposed intermediate an output of theswitching voltage regulator and a first node for receiving a firstterminal of a battery to be charged; and first feedback circuitryconfigured to produce a first error signal relating to a differencebetween a first voltage and a first target voltage, with the firstvoltage being between the output of the switching voltage regulator anda second node for receiving a second terminal of the battery to becharged, with the first error signal being used by the switchercontroller when the control circuit is in the constant voltage chargingmode for controlling the top and low side switching transistors.
 2. Thecontrol circuit of claim 1 further including second feedback circuitryconfigured to produce a second error signal relating to current flowthough the power path switch, with the second error signal being used bythe switcher controller when the control circuit is in the constantcurrent charging mode.
 3. The control circuit of claim 2 wherein asecond voltage is produced when a current sense resistor is connected inseries with the power path switch and wherein the second error signalrelates to a difference between the second voltage and a second targetvoltage.
 4. The control circuit of claim 3 wherein the second feedbackcircuitry further includes an error amplifier having one input relatingto the second voltage and a second input relating to the second targetvoltage.
 5. The control circuit of claim 2 wherein a first sensedvoltage is produced when a resistive voltage divider is connectedbetween the output of the switching voltage regulator and the secondnode, with the first sensed voltage being a fraction of the firstvoltage determined by the resistive voltage divider and wherein thefirst feedback circuitry further includes an error amplifier having oneinput coupled to receive the first sensed voltage when the resistivedivider is present and having a second input relating to the firsttarget voltage.
 6. The control circuit of claim 1 wherein the power pathswitch includes at least two transistor segments having common sourceelectrodes, common drain electrodes and separate gate electrodes.
 7. Thecontrol circuit of claim 6 further including a power path switch turn-oncontroller which is configured to sequentially turn ON the at least twotransistor segments.
 8. The control circuit of claim 7 wherein the powerpath switch turn-on controller produces separate gate drive signals foreach of the at least two transistor segments, with the separate gatedrive signals having differing times for transitioning from an off statewhere the at least two transistor segments are OFF to an on state wherethe at least two transistor segments are ON.
 9. The control circuit ofclaim 8 wherein the power path switch includes at least four transistorsegments.
 10. The control circuit of claim 9 wherein the four transistorsegments have differing ON resistances and wherein the power path switchturn-on controller sequentially turns the transistor segments ONstarting with the segment having the largest ON resistance.
 11. Thecontrol circuit of claim 10 wherein the at least four transistorsegments have respective relative ON resistances of 2R, 4R, 8R and 16Rand wherein the power path switch turn-on controller sequentially turnsthe transistor segments ON starting with the segment with the 16R ONresistance.
 12. The control circuit of claim 10 wherein the power pathswitch includes at least six transistor segments.
 13. The controlcircuit of claim 12 wherein the at least six transistor segments haverespective relative ON resistances of 2R, 4R, 8R, 16R, 32R and 32R andwherein the power path switch turn-on controller sequentially turns thetransistor segments ON resistances starting in the following sequence:32R, 32R, 16R, 8R, 4R and 2R.
 14. The control circuit of claim 1wherein, at a point in time during a charging cycle when a batteryconnected to the first node has reached a charge termination voltage, avoltage difference between the output of the switching voltage regulatorand the first node is less than 20 mV.
 15. A control circuit for use ina battery charger circuit that includes a switching voltage regulator,said control circuit having a constant current charging mode and aconstant voltage charging mode, said control circuit comprising: aswitcher controller configured to control a state of a top sideswitching transistor and a low side transistor of the switching voltageregulator in response to at least one error signal; a power pathtransistor switch disposed intermediate an output of the switchingvoltage regulator and a first node for receiving a first terminal of abattery to be charged, with said power path transistor switch includingat least two transistor segments each having respective drain electrodesconnected in common, respective source electrodes connected in commonand separate gate electrodes; a power path switch controller coupled tothe separate gate electrodes and configured to turn the power pathswitch ON and OFF; first feedback circuitry configured to produce afirst error signal relating to a difference between a first voltage anda first target voltage, with the first voltage being between the outputof the switching voltage regulator and a second node for receiving asecond terminal of the battery to be charged, with the first errorsignal being used by the switcher controller when the control circuit isin the constant voltage charging mode for controlling the top and lowside switching transistors.
 16. The control circuit of claim 15 furtherincluding second feedback circuitry configured to produce a second errorsignal relating to current flow though the power path switch, with thesecond error signal being used by the switcher controller when thecontrol circuit is in the constant current charging mode.
 17. Thecontrol circuit of claim 15 wherein, at a point in time during acharging cycle when a battery connected to the first node has reached acharge termination voltage, a voltage difference between the output ofthe switching voltage regulator and the first node is less than 20 mV.18. A method of controlling a battery charger circuit which includes aswitching voltage regulator, said method comprising: controlling a stateof first and second switching transistors of the switching voltageregulator in response to at least one error signal; producing an outputsignal indicative of a voltage developed at an output of the switchingregulator across a serial combination of a power path transistor and abattery to be charged; and producing a first error signal based upon adifference between the output signal and a first target signal, with thefirst error signal functioning as the at least one error signal when thebattery charger circuit is in a constant voltage charging mode.
 19. Themethod of claim 18 wherein the serial combination includes the powerpath switch, a current sensing element and a battery to be charged. 20.The method of claim 18 further including producing a charge signalindicative of current flow through the power path switch; and producinga second error signal based upon a difference between the charge signaland a second target signal, with the second error signal functioning asthe at least one error signal when the battery charger circuit is in aconstant current charging mode.
 21. The method of claim 20 wherein thepower path switch includes at least two transistor segments havingcommon source electrodes, common drain electrodes and separate gateelectrodes and wherein the method further includes sequentially turningthe at least two transistor segments ON.